Hi Hank. Welcome to the forum. Make yourself at home. You will find lots of info here. If you can't find it, feel free to ask. Someone may have an answer for you. Also feel free to introduce yourself if you haven't yet done so using this link: "http://www.livinginthephilippines.com/forum/index.php?board=35.0" Keep posting and before you know it, you're off moderation. Again welcome & God Bless.....Steve.

Thanks for the kind welcome Steve, and for your interesting thoughts, Lost in Samoa, FastWalk, BigRod and David690.

So, it would appear that two of you guys have developed a healthy affinity for Phils brekkies, with rice and a protein, and big rod and David690 you seem to both have more Fil-Am/Eu brekky tastes, perhaps still like me, if I may say.

All of these choices sound interesting, well-varied and for sure healthy. Of interest, and perhaps understandable (as it appears it's the same as with the Phils diet), it would seem that your traditional breakfast cereals with milk etc does not feature greatly in the diet of ex-pats very much. However, rice and a choice of protein certainly does.

For breakfast my wife loves steamed or fried rice with either tapsilog (fried smoked beef and eggs), tocilog (egg and tocino: marinated pork) longganisa (a pork sausage and egg) or with any kind of fish, dried, smoked or fresh. If possible all of these dishes would include eggs, either fried, srambled or hard boiled and a green salad and/or pickled papaya.

Personally I find all of these choices nice and tasty, and I am slowly getting used to them, though they are still somewhat strong in flavour for my breakfast palate.

Diabetic here, so no rice or potatoes or any of that high carbed stuff. Usually eggs in some fashion. Hard-boiled, scrambled, fried, or eve in a cheese, ham, or ham and cheese omelette. If I am not having the omelette usually some meat side. Bacon, sausage, or ham usually. Breakfast is the one meal I rarely go cheap on. Sometimes I'll get some bran muffins or something if they around. Not often in my neck of the woods.

Diabetic here, so no rice or potatoes or any of that high carbed stuff .. Sometimes I'll get some bran muffins or something if they around. Not often in my neck of the woods.

Ah, yes .. it's bad luck regards the diabetes, JoeLP. Must say, those Bran muffins sound nice, though maybe they might also be quite sweet, with quite a bit of sugar, as I've found does most of the bread on sale in the Phils. Even the spaghetti with tomato sauce often served for celebrations and on special occasions usually seems quite sweet to me as well. I imagine as a diabetic this sometimes might tend to make things a little difficult for you food-wise Joe? But on the other hand, I guess the sour flavors that are also so popular in the Phils might tend to make up for this for you a bit?

And medic3500, you sound busy, or just not in the habit of having breakfast?

Must say, given my rathers, I'd be breakfasting the same as Chuck (bigrod) does :-)

Ah, yes .. it's bad luck regards the diabetes, JoeLP. Must say, those Bran muffins sound nice, though maybe they might also be quite sweet, with quite a bit of sugar, as I've found does most of the bread on sale in the Phils. Even the spaghetti with tomato sauce often served for celebrations and on special occasions usually seems quite sweet to me as well. I imagine as a diabetic this sometimes might tend to make things a little difficult for you food-wise Joe? But on the other hand, I guess the sour flavors that are also so popular in the Phils might tend to make up for this for you a bit?

And medic3500, you sound busy, or just not in the habit of having breakfast?

Must say, given my rathers, I'd be breakfasting the same as Chuck (bigrod) does :-)

Don't need to worry about the spaghetti sauce as it's put on pasta which is also very high carbed, so I don't do it either way. The ketchup is a mess here. They have traditional style, they the filiipino sweet. GRRR. The wife use to shop for ketchup until she kept getting the sweet. No matter how many times I told her I cannot use it. There is a baker in town who has diabetic children. So he bakes without the excess sugar like most bakers do here. He doesn't make bran very often as it's hard for him to get the necessary ingredients at a discount price(bulk price) but when he gets it, he usually calls Tina and she'll pick up a dozen or so. Blows me away how many locals are diabetic yet how horrible local sciences/education on diabetes is. Even more messed up is how doctors are seen here as if they are gods not to be argued against. Sorta like USA views up till around the 80's or 90's. I never trusted a doctor until I got a good feel for them. Seen too many f ups by them. Even in my own medical history. Yet here, they prescribe something, you use it. Even if there is a very capable alternative that can be purchased for much, much less. Saved a diabetic policeman from spending way over 3 times the costs for what he was recommended for something actually better for him. Oh well, this is a breakfast add. On that thought, I also do chorizo...depending on who makes it. That's a good breakfast dish.

There is a baker in town who has diabetic children. So he bakes without the excess sugar like most bakers do here. He doesn't make bran very often as it's hard for him to get the necessary ingredients ... Blows me away how many locals are diabetic yet how horrible local sciences/education on diabetes is ... Saved a diabetic policeman from spending way over 3 times the costs for what he was recommended for something actually better for him. Oh well, this is a breakfast add. On that thought, I also do chorizo...depending on who makes it. That's a good breakfast dish.

Good on you Joe .. taking care of your locals. And you're right about diabetes being out of control. For one example, an Enquirer article late last year claims, "In the Western Pacific, the Philippines ranks fifth - behind China, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand - in the number of diabetics ... there were already 3.9 million diabetic Filipinos when the population was 65 million. With the current population now over 100 million, local experts estimate that we have more than 5 million diagnosed diabetics. A similar number will likely remain undiagnosed, or have prediabetes. If nothing is done to stem the alarming trend, the prevalence of diabetes is expected to soar to 20 percent of the population by the year 2045."

However, and in terms of diabetes, it seems that you know what you are doing. And, you are taking good care of yourself, and others. Good for you fella!